Former guerrilla leader Hashim Thaci, who is vying for political office in Kosovo, said Saturday that elections in the mostly ethnic Albanian province were just a step on the road to full independence from Yugoslavia.
"I have complete confidence that the international community will soon be persuaded that it must recognize Kosovo's right to full independence," Thaci said as he cast his ballot early Saturday in central Pristina.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) Saturday throughout the UN-administered province for the first vote to be held in Kosovo since the end in June 1999 of NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
The outcome of the municipal elections could prompt Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority to step up the drive for independence.
Thaci, 32, who has never before cast a ballot, since Kosovo Albanians boycotted Yugoslav elections after 1991, said holding municipal elections underscored the population's commitment to bringing stability to the region.
"I hope that soon we will have general elections, to vote for the parliament, for the government, and I am confident that Kosovo will be independent soon," said the former leader of the now disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army.
"This is the first time I have voted, it's normal, I feel happy since we fought to see this day, to be able to vote freely as citizens of Kosovo," he added.
More than 900,000 voters were due to elect 920 councillors in 30 municipalities on Saturday. Polls were to close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT).
However, Kosovo's Serb 100,000-strong Serb minority is boycotting the election supervised by the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE).
Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is one of the poll's 39 ethnic Albanian political groups, all of which share a nationalist platform with the mass of voters, who represent more than 90 percent of the province's estimated 1.9 million population.
Thaci's main rival is the respected but uncharismatic Ibrahim Rugova, dubbed the "father of the nation,", whose Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) is the clear favorite to win a majority of votes -- PRISTINA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
